The brands that offer the biggest and smallest new car discounts revealed for the first half of 2019

• Citroën retailers have offered the biggest discounts on new models, with nearly 12% savings since the start of the year, according to exclusive What Car? research
• Premium brands, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo among those offering new car buyers the biggest price cuts
• The 10 biggest discounters accounted for nearly 50% of new car sales in the first half of 2019
• Average cash discount across all makes and models at the end of June was 7.60% or £2595
• New car discounts have steadily increased since the beginning of the year
• Budget brand Dacia found to offer the smallest savings, with 0.96% average discount
• To find out how much you can save on your next car, visit: https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals

The brands offering the biggest and smallest new car discounts have been revealed in market intelligence from consumer champion What Car?’s New Car Buying platform. Citroën topped the table, while Dacia offered buyers the lowest price reductions in the first six months of 2019.

Despite their typically higher price tags, analysis of What Car?’s Target Price mystery shopper data also found premium brands including BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo offer some of the biggest discounts for new car buyers.

Together, the 10 brands with the biggest discounts accounted for nearly 50% of the UK’s new car sales, while those with the smallest offerings accounted for just 12.43%.

Citroën retailers have cut prices by an average of 11.75% since the beginning of the year – significantly more than industry average of 7.60%, or £2595. Some individual car models have even been offered with more than 20% off their list price.

Volkswagen offered the second biggest discounts across the first half of the year, with the German brand’s retailers cutting prices by more than 11% on average. Vauxhall dealers offered the third-biggest savings, with popular models such as the Astra discounted by more than £4500 at the end of June.

What Car?’s Target Price discount is negotiated by a team of mystery shoppers and indicates the most buyers should pay for their new car. All retailers selling cars through What Car?’s New Car Buying platform must list them at Target Price or below, ensuring that buyers visiting www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals can get a great deal without any haggling.

The research also found Dacia buyers typically received the lowest discounts, at just 0.96% below the list price. However, Dacia’s cars are among the cheapest in the UK, with the Sandero starting from less than £7000, and the brand still enjoyed significant growth.

Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: “In this turbulent market we cannot stress enough the importance of doing your research when buying your next car. Some brands are offering buyers large savings, while others are using different tactics.

“Interestingly, there is a split between premium brands. BMW and Mercedes-Benz, for example, tend to offer big discounts, while Land Rover and Lexus are pursuing a policy of smaller price reductions.”

N.B: Deals correct as of June 2019

ENDS

*Market Share Year-to-Date figures obtained from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)
About What Car?

What Car?, the UK’s leading and most trusted car buying brand, has the magazine, a market-leading website and several established brand extensions. It has helped Britain’s car buyers to make purchasing decisions for more than 40 years and its tests are widely regarded as the most trusted source of new car advice.

Whatcar.com is the UK’s leading car buying website, offering trusted reviews and data on every new car. A winner of numerous awards and accolades, whatcar.com is recognised as one of the UK’s leading consumer websites and attracts 1.7m unique users every month and over 13m monthly page impressions. The brand has seen major investment in its digital infrastructure as it develops a new ecommerce platform, allowing users to act on the trusted advice What Car? offers.

With a print circulation of 55,459, combined with its mobile and social reach, What Car? has more than 5.5 million monthly points of contact with its audience on the move, at work, at home and at the crucial point of sale. It is the top performing monthly on the UK newsstand in the motoring category.

About Target Price

Target Price is unique to What Car?. Every day a team of mystery shoppers goes out and haggles to find the best deals available across the UK. These are printed alongside What Car? reviews as well as on the What Car? New Car Buying platform to help drivers find the best deals.

The deals are based on a cash deal and do not include elements like finance incentives or trade in considerations. The deals change on a weekly basis.
For further media information please contact Performance Communications:
Natasha Perry or Sam Wilkinson at Performance Communications on 0208 541 3434.
natasha@performancecomms.com
sam@performancecomms.com